Public Protector Finds Lynne Brown Guilty of Misleading Parliament

Johnnesburg - The damning public protector's report which found Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown lied to Parliament, has added impetus to calls for President Cyril Ramaphosa to fire cabinet members with Gupta links.

Meanwhile, Business Report reported on February 14 that mining company, Exxaro said Public Enterprise Minister Lynne Brown was instrumental in pushing the mining company out of Eskom's supply contract.

"No evidence or information could be found or was submitted during the investigation that Minister Brown deliberately meant to mislead Parliament and the public with her written reply.But by inadvertently conveying misleading information to Parliament, the Minister had violated the provisions of paragraph 2.3 (a) of the Executive Ethics Code, and should be sanctioned by the President", Mkhwebane found. The party's shadow minister of public enterprises, Natasha Mazzone, has said Brown was allowed to act with impunity for far too long and her leadership had been very negative for state-owned companies, particularly Eskom.

Brown had, in a reply to Parliament in December 2016, denied that money was paid to Trillian for the Duvha power plant insurance claim and that Eskom never appointed Trillian to negotiate the settlement.

But Mazzone attached media reports that Trillian instead invoiced Eskom for R266 million and R153 million respectively.

Brown had previously admitted to the inaccuracy and said that she had been acting on advice from Eskom officials.

Exxaro chief executive Mxolisi Mgojo told the portfolio committee on public enterprise where he gave evidence into operations at the power utility, that Brown blocked R1.8 billion in funding to the company's Matla mine.

Opposition parties on Friday used the report to intensify their calls for Ramaphosa to reshuffle his cabinet and appoint people with ethics and integrity.

The DA urges President Cyril Ramaphosa to act swiftly against the Minister and immediately fire her from his Cabinet.

"Her time has finally come to face the music".

The Public Protector's finding is a victory for all those who have fought bravely against State Capture.